Semi-ellipse method for accounting for the pile-up contact area during nanoindentation with the Berkovich indenter

A method of approximating the pile-up contact perimeter as a semi-ellipse originally developed for soda-lime glass, has been investigated for its applicability to other materials including work-hardened copper, Zr-based bulk metallic glass, strontium fluoroapatite, tungsten carbide, silicon nitride and aluminium oxide. The study revealed that all the materials formed pile-ups during nanoindentation. The elastic modulus and hardness values obtained after correcting for the pile-up contact area using the semi-ellipse approximation were consistent with those found in the literature.